How to make your hiking shoes more comfortable

Keeping our feet happy should be one of our top priorities when it comes to hiking . If your feet get injured or are hurting, they won’t be able to get you where you’re going or at least not as comfortably, so ensuring that we have adequate footwear is of the utmost importance if we hope to have an enjoyable and successful hike.

So what can you do to keep your feet feeling good throughout your hike? Having the right pair of shoes or boots is a start, but there can be a lot more to it than that. Other factors can be the shape of your feet and the type of socks you’re wearing. Perhaps even lacing your shoes another way will help.

Below, I’ll go over some of the different lacing techniques you can use depending on the issue you may be having. Plus, I’ll discuss other ways you can improve the comfort of your shoes. But first, let’s briefly talk about the human foot and go over some terminology that may help you figure out what is causing your pain.

About the Human Foot

Let me first note that I am not a medical expert, so don’t use this information over that of a medical professional. With that said, unscientifically speaking, there are three main regions of the human foot. I created this diagram below for reference.

A lot of problems people have with their feet stem from one of these regions, so knowing that you have a wide forefoot or high midfoot can help determine what methods you should use for easing your foot discomfort inside your hiking shoe.

To actually determine if your foot has an abnormality in one of these regions, it is best to see a a foot doctor, known as a podiatrist, but if you suspect you may have an abnormality, trying one of the lacing techniques listed further below is worth a try before rushing off to find another shoe.

A few common abnormalities are:

• Wide forefoot
• Narrow forefoot
• High midfoot
• High arches
• Flat arches

Fortunately, there are measures that can be taken to alleviate pain in your foot while hiking, running, or even just everyday walking.

Making your hiking shoes more comfortable

Now let’s get to the heart of this article and explore what you can do to help make your feet happier next time you’re hiking on the trail.

Break-in your shoes

Obviously, the first thing you should do to improve the comfort of your hiking shoes is to make sure they are properly broken in. While trail-runners don’t require near the amount of time a more rigid hiking boot or shoe require, it is still a good idea to break them in as well.

Whatever type of hiking shoe or boot you choose to use, spend some time walking around in them inside your house or around your yard first. You can then work you way up to a short stroll around the block and maybe a nice walk in the park. Eventually, work you way up to a couple of miles on trail. Just don’t take brand new shoes straight to the trail and plan to hike 15 miles right away. You may be fine, but I don’t think it is worth the risk.

Wear the right socks

Something as simple as the socks you are hiking in can cause a great deal of pain to your feet. Ensuring you are using appropriate socks for hiking is a necessity! The wrong socks, whether the wrong material or size, can have a huge impact to your overall comfort inside your hiking shoes.

First, make sure you are hiking in socks not made from cotton! Wool or some sort of wool blend of socks are best because wool regulates temperature better than other fabrics, meaning less feet sweat. A wool blend will also wick moisture away from your feet, reducing the risk of blisters and hot spots.

Also make sure you have the right amount of cushioning with your socks, whether that be no cushioning or heavy cushioning. The more cushioning a sock provides, the warmer the sock will be, therefore heavy cushioning is best for cold weather hiking while light to no cushioning is best for warm weather hiking. No-cushion socks are sometimes best used as (and are many times designated as) sock liners. I recommend Darn Tough brand socks with light cushioning. These are incredibly durable, plus the cushioning helps protect the heel and ball of your foot.

Lastly, you need to have properly sized socks for your feet. Too small of socks can cause them to slip and socks too big may cause them to bunch up and create discomfort.

Use insoles

Using the right insoles for your hiking shoes can make a huge difference in the overall comfort of your feet. Some insoles just provide extra cushioning in the heavier impacted parts of your feet, like the heel and ball of the foot. Others are designed specifically to help with some of the common foot abnormalities listed above, like high arches, or to correct issues regarding how well a pair of shoes fit, like heel slippage.

Insoles are made from different materials, but gel insoles will be best for high impact activities like hiking or running. This is because the gel absorbs the impact, which helps to reduce foot fatigue.

Lacing Techniques

Below, I’ll highlight some lacing techniques that can help with common problems hikers have, especially when hiking for prolonged periods of time. You can also play around with different lacing techniques for a more custom fit once you figure out how certain methods resolve certain issues.

It’s important to note that not all shoes can be laced the exact same way as pictured below. Some shoes have more or fewer eyelets than others, meaning modifications may be required. The shoes I used in these examples (Saucony Peregrines) actually have fewer eyelets than a lot of other shoes so I did have to modify the lacing pattern to work as well as they can.

And even though I used a pair of trail-running shoes for these examples, the same (or similar) lacing patterns can be used on hiking boots or shoes to alleviate the same pains. If you need further examples, I recommend visiting https://runrepeat.com/top-10-running-shoe-lacing-techniques.

Overall Roomier Fit

If the length of your shoe is fine, but it just feels a little too tight along the width, you can lace your shoe in a way that allows for less constriction on the sides. This method doesn’t pull the sides in as tight but should still maintain a secure fit around your foot.

Wide Forefoot

Wide forefeet are very common, so some shoes are designed to compensate this style of foot. But try using this lacing technique first before committing to buying a new pair of shoes. Similar to the “Overall Roomier Fit”, this method alleviates pressure you might feel around your forefoot while keep your shoes tight around your ankles.

Narrow Forefoot

A narrow forefoot is not as common as a wide one, but if you do suffer from this problem try this lacing method. It tightens your shoe around your forefoot while not suffocating your foot around the ankle.

High Arches

If you have problems with your ankles tending to roll to the outside while hiking, then high arches in your feet may be the problem. This lacing method provides additional support so this issue doesn’t interfere with your comfort.

Having high arches can also cause the top of your shoes to be too tight, leading to discomfort as your feet rub against it. Here’s a method to provide a little extra comfort.

High Midfoot

Opposite of having your ankles roll outward, if your feet tend to roll to the inside, you may have a high midfoot. To alleviate this issue and to gain more stability hiking on the trail, here’s a method to try.

Flat Foot

Some people have what is known as flat feet, or where the arch of your foot is lower than normal. I’ve heard tale of hikers who have hiked thousands and thousands of miles whose feet had grown flatter. This is a tougher issue to resolve, but the lacing method below can be used to help reduce the risk of plantar fasciitis when hiking, keeping the tissues in the bottom of your feet from being overstretched.

Black Toenail

The first time I hiked a long-distance trail, I came home with black toenails, which is caused when your toes are too tight in your shoes. This causes your toes to constantly ram against the inside of your shoes, bruising your toenails and making them dark. This method will relieve pressure around the toes by creating more space, giving you extra comfort to tackle those downhill hikes.

Heel Slippage

If your heel doesn’t stay in place when hiking it is called heel slippage. This can be very uncomfortable and cause injuries. It can also lead to instability that may eventually cause you to have an accident. Use this lacing method to help secure your heel and keep it in place.

Stretch the toe box

So many hikers gravitate towards the Altra Lone Peak series of trail-running shoes, specifically because they offer a wide toe box. If a wider toe box is something you need, then lacing your shoes with the pattern for a wide forefoot might help some, but you can also stretch out the toe box of your shoes to give you toes a little more wiggle room.

To stretch the toe box of your hiking shoes, simply stuff wadded up newspaper inside and leave it overnight. If packed tightly, the toe box should stretch out some, but if not stretched enough, you can try leaving the newspaper in longer. It’s unreasonable to expect the toe box to stretch out as wide as the Lone Peak shoes, however, a little extra space may be all your feet need to drastically increase comfort.

Conclusion

Hopefully one of these tips can help resolve whatever issue you may be having with your hiking shoes. If none of these do the trick then I recommend seeking professional help in dealing with your foot discomfort as they should be able to pinpoint the reason for your discomfort and recommend what corrective actions you should make. With that said, keeping your feet comfortable during your hike can be a science, so all you need to know is the right formula.